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Thursday, July 27, 2017

The family thali – Sornalingam’s daughter-in-law too wore the thali for her wedding

Sornalingam and Suhenthra, 34 years later-I
don’t normally wear tilaka unless I go to temple. Today is a ceremony
day. In general we don’t like to wear clothes that identify us [as
Tamil] anymore.”

RAISA WICKREMATUNGE on 07/25/2017

S
Sornalingam had always thought he would have happy memories of July
1983. On July 15 that year, he and Suhenthra Muthuraja got married in a
civil ceremony in Jaffna. At the time, he had no idea that he would be
spending his honeymoon in a refugee camp.

There was no hint of the trouble to come when the newlyweds and
Sornalingam’s mother returned to their newly rented home, located at
Huludalgoda road on July 22. On Monday, July 26, Sornalingam traveled by
bus to Hill Street, Dehiwala in order to drop his wife off at Suzuki
Garments, where she worked as an accounts clerk. He then went to visit a
friend at the Bambalapitiya flats. “My friend told me that there were
problems in Borella. He said I must go back as soon as possible.”

Sornalingam rushed back to Hill Street and broke the news to Mr
Wijewardene, the owner of Suzuki Garments. Wijewardene promptly provided
a car and driver in order to drop a number of the female staff (most of
whom were Tamil) to their homes.

“When we got onto the Galle Road, we saw smoke coming from Concord
Theatre. There was a huge crowd, and we were traveling with great
difficulty,” Sornalingam said.

After a trip that took hours, the couple returned home, much to the
relief of Sornalingam’s mother, who was in tears and worried for their
safety. Their landlord, Mr Upasena, assured them that they would help
them, and they had nothing to fear. Although Sornalingam wanted to go to
his brother’s home, Upasena’s brother, who arrived by motorbike, warned
against it. He told them the situation had ‘gone out of hand.’

“My wife and I could pass for Sinhalese, but my mother cannot speak
Sinhalese, and dresses like a Tamil. Our landlord said he would protect
us.”

There were several other houses in the compound. For their safety,
Upasena moved the family into another house, as he was worried they
might have been seen. “He locked the door and told us not to even peek
through the window, because outsiders might see,” Sornalingam said. That
same night, around 10 other boys ended up in the same house – their
landlady had asked them to leave as she was worried her house might be
targeted by the mobs. The Upasenas accommodated them as well.

“We were all together in a large room. I had my small radio set. I was
listening to the news. It said curfew was being imposed. Apart from that
we didn’t know much about what was happening outside.”

Two days passed without incident. Then, on Wednesday, around 2 pm, there
was a loud noise. The mobs had arrived at Upasena’s home. “They said
they had seen a lady getting down from a three-wheeler wearing anklets.
They said ‘We know she is there.’”“

Upasena had confirmed the family had arrived, but said they had left
again to a relatives place. But the mob was not to be deterred. They
demanded proof. In the end, Upasena opened up the annex where
Sornalingam and his wife were planning to live, and repeated that they
had left. There was a small grocery shop on the premises, also owned by
Upasena. The mob had demanded kerosene from him, in order to burn the
annex. The landlord had then pleaded with them, reasoning that his own
home would catch fire as well. Eventually the mob left.

The next day, the news came through on Sornalingam’s radio, that curfew
had been lifted. There were certain camps that had been set up for
people. Residents in Bambalapitiya, for instance, were directed to the
kovil. Sornalingam, his wife and mother were to go to the airport camp,
as they resided in Mount Lavinia.

Before they embarked on their journey, Upasena warned the Sornalingams
not to carry any jewellery or valuables. He asked them to keep them with
him for safekeeping. Yet Suhenthra did not want to part with her thali
(according to tradition, the thali can only be removed once a spouse
passes away). Among the few possessions the family took were the thali
and a bag full of rich cake – the couple’s wedding cake.

Upasena’s brother followed on a pushbike as the family as they made
their way to the airport came on foot. They set off early, in order to
avoid any trouble that might occur once the curfew was lifted. Arriving
at the Mount Lavinia police station, the family were then given
transport to the airport camp.

“There were around 8,000 to 9,000 people in that camp. We were provided
some meals and water. A lot of professionals, and members from the elite
class were also begging for meals there. People were seated on the
ground. It was a sad situation,” Sornalingam recalled.

Many Ministers visited the camp, including the Minister for Shipping at
the time, Lalith Athulathumudali, and Dr. A T Ariyaratne from Sarvodaya,
who raised concerns about the bad sanitation at the camp. “There were
no toilets. You had to go outside… he was worried about the hygienic
conditions.”

Five days passed, but the family still did not receive news about being
dispatched to Jaffna, as they hoped. Eventually Dr Ariyaratne told the
people at the camps to ask the Minister about a ship, adding if they did
not receive an answer, he would arrange one himself.

The next day, a ship carrying the sick and elderly set off. Sornalingam
entered his family’s details for passage on the second ship, a cargo
vessel dubbed the Lanka Kalyani. In a trip that took approximately one
and a half days, the Lanka Kalyani sailed for Kankesanthurai. One of
Sornalingam’s most vivid memories was his mother’s struggle to climb the
perpendicular ladder to go above deck to use the toilet – a rope had to
be used and many of the elderly had trouble getting on the ship.

That evening however, the newlyweds went up on deck and enjoyed the
breeze, feeling a sense of freedom for the first time in a week. The
returnees were given lunch at Nadeswara College, Kankesanthurai and then
given transport to Chavakachcheri.

They returned to an atmosphere wracked with uncertainty. Many had lost
relatives, property and employment in the riots, and were unsure about
their next steps. A doctor called Mr Black was facilitating passage to
Australia. Sornalingam too applied. However, he felt compelled to tell
the truth – that he still had employment as an accountant at the State
Plantations Corporation (he was stationed in Nuwara Eliya at the time).
The Sornalingam’s application was rejected. Although there was still
hope – many countries did not require visa at the time, but only
passports – the family decided that they did not really want to move.

However, they did decide that they wanted to move out of the Huludalgoda
house, and stay in Jaffna for the time being. As such, a matter of
weeks after the riots, Sornalingam traveled back to Colombo. Around two
weeks after, a letter from Upasena arrived, informing him that the
curfew had been lifted. He returned to the house in Huludalgoda road at
around 7 pm. He had to arrange a van to transport their belongings with
difficulty. “Even at that time, people were not prepared to help us load
and unload as things were still tense.” Sornalingam packed at night.
Upasena recalled that there was a portion of the advance I had paid that
he would have to return as the family was vacating. “I told him not to
worry, to send me a cheque when he can.”

The next morning at breakfast, Upasena returned with a cheque containing the balance due to him.

Sornalingam himself returned to work in late August. “One of the
superintendents I worked with said I was a bold fellow to return to work
so soon. I told him, we have to do what we can to survive.”